“Basically how to make their lives better and more meaningful,” Conway says.

Bringing guests to Turtle Island is where the problem lies, according to county officials. They cite codes the preserve’s buildings don’t meet, as well as outhouses that require septic system improvements.

In October, the health department told Turtle Island to stop offering lodging, meals or other activities to the public.

That was after the county executed a search warrant and, according to Conway, sent an “unwanted invasion team” onto the property to inspect and photograph structures and homes.

A Gaston-raised man known for his role on the History Channel’s “Mountain Men” says he is taking on the government in a struggle to preserve his way of life and share his historically authentic experience with others.

Eustace Conway is the founder of Turtle Island Preserve in Watauga County, a place he describes as a working farm and education center.

Conway grew up in Gastonia, attending elementary and middle school here and graduating from Ashbrook High School. He says The Schiele Museum, where pieces of taxidermy he did as a teen are still on display, triggered his interest in history and living interpretation of the past.

“I left out of Gastonia when I was 17,” he said, “just walked out of there into the woods and started living naturally.”

And he does mean naturally. Conway says he made his home in a tepee for the next 17 winters, living off the land and wearing homemade buckskin clothes.

Conway’s biography goes on to describe a 1,000-mile canoe trip down the Mississippi River, a 2,000-mile trek along the length of the Appalachian Trail, backpacking through deserts and jungle.

And in 1987 Conway, who says he also found time to complete degrees in English and anthropology, founded Turtle Island.

Trouble on the farm

Until closing in the wake of violation notices from the county planning and district health departments, Turtle Island hosted camps and programs for children, adults and families.

“Basically how to make their lives better and more meaningful,” Conway says.

Bringing guests to Turtle Island is where the problem lies, according to county officials. They cite codes the preserve’s buildings don’t meet, as well as outhouses that require septic system improvements.

In October, the health department told Turtle Island to stop offering lodging, meals or other activities to the public.

That was after the county executed a search warrant and, according to Conway, sent an “unwanted invasion team” onto the property to inspect and photograph structures and homes.

‘Illegal to be authentic’

Conway scoffs at the idea his preserve isn’t safe. He says no one has ever been injured by one of his structures and balks at the idea his foundations of rock are inferior to concrete foundations required by state code.

He says he abides by the same principles used in cabins that have stood for hundreds of years.

Conway values lessons from the past over modern convention. The Turtle Island founder believes more than his preserve is at stake in his battle to keep the land as it is.

In response to the code violations and threat of legal action, Conway began looking closely at building code.

What he did not find in the legalese shocked him more than its contents. There is nothing in the law to allow a public structure to be constructed using historical techniques, not even for educational purposes, according to Conway.

“It’s illegal to be authentic,” he says.

Sustaining support

Conway plans on asking the N.C. Building Codes Council to create an exception for educational purposes.

It’s the purpose behind a petition Turtle Island posted on Change.org, which by Thursday had garnered more than 9,500 signatures.

Gaston resident Heidi Parks is among them. A former classmate of Conway’s, she has tried to spread the word locally about his plight. When she held a birthday party this week at Flip Flops, she asked her guests to sign the petition instead of bringing gifts.

“I believe in keeping the history alive and I believe in what he’s doing,” Parks said.

A contingent from Turtle Island, which Conway runs with a staff of volunteers, is scheduled to speak to the codes council Monday.

The board will hear his presentation but isn’t likely to take action on the matter then, said Barry Gupton, the state’s chief code consultant.

Conway expects it will take more than one meeting appearance to convince lawmakers the state should find a way to work with historical endeavors like his.

He also believes his battle to keep Turtle Island open extends beyond his western North Carolina acreage.

“This is about freedom and human rights,” he says. “It’s not just one farm in the mountains.”